The Running Game
by CastleLover8672
Summary: It's been done a million times before. Phil/OC. Give it a chance, you know you want to.
1. Chapter 1

_"Hey, it's Kate. I can't take your call at the moment, but leave a message and I'll try-"_

_ "Hey, you've reached Doug. Sorry I missed your call, but please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you."_

_ "Hi, you've reached Dr. Stuart Price with Divine Dentistry. Please leave a message after the-"_

_ "Hey, this is Phil. Leave me a message, or don't. But do me a favor and don't text me, it's gay."_

"Dammit," Tracy muttered under her breath as she pressed the end button, for what seemed like the 10th time in the last minute.

Tracy's mother, Judy, turned around after hearing her daughter's quiet curse. She had been scouting the window, looking for any signs of the four men and woman, with no luck. They were all suppose to be here hours ago, but there was no evidence of them being here, or even showing up.

"Anything?" Judy asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"I've tried them all, but it keeps going straight to voice mail," Tracy quietly said while glancing coldly at her phone. She ran a manicured hand through her straight hair and sighed, "How could this have happened? I purposely sent Kate with them so that we could avoid this, but still, it happens," she exasperated angrily.

"Listen, sweetheart, there has to be an explanation-"

"It's Vegas, sweetie," Sid, Tracy's father, cut in. Both Judy and Tracy looked at him coldly, but still he went on, "you lose track of time in those casinos. There's no windows, there's no clocks...he's probably on a heater. And you never walk away from a table when you're on a heater." Pointing a finger in the air, Sid then went back to his magazine and ignored both of the glares that two of his family members were giving him.

"You do if you're getting married, Sid," Judy said.

Before Sid could marvelously continue to explain Vegas, Tracy's phone burst into her classic ring-tone. She hastily grabbed at it, and preceded to flip it open without looking at the caller-id.

"Hello?" she desperately greeted.

_"Tracy, it's Phil,"_ a man said through the speaker.

"Phil, where the hell are you?" she quietly screamed at him. Tracy abruptly stood up from her chair and walked away from her family, clutching the phone to her ear, "I'm freaking out."

_"Yeah, listen, Trace. We fucked up,"_ he said, defeated.

"What the hell are you talking about, Phil?"

_"The bachelor party, the whole night, it...things got out of control and...we lost Doug,"_ Phil tried to explain to her.

"What?"

_"We can't find Doug."_

"What are you saying, Phil? We're getting married in five hours."

_"Yeah. That's not going to happen."_ Phil said while Tracy turned back around to her parents and dropped her, making it smash into pieces.

**(Kate's POV, two days earlier)**

"Kate, come on, stop being a baby! It's for one night, just one! It's not going to kill you!"

"Yes, Trace, it is. You know it will."

Tracy ran her hands through her medium length, dark brown hair, and then locked her eyes on me, "Listen, Kate, I know that you and Phil have a past-"

"No, we don't," I growled back at her.

That wasn't completely true. Yes, Phil and I did have a past, but not a major one. We slept together, twice- once in college and the other two years ago- but those were two very stupid mistakes. Those two times I thought that we might have had something special there, but the moment he walked out on me those thoughts disappeared. He met his- then- finance a month after we last slept together, but the last I heard they had split; something about her cheating on him.

"Oh, bull," Tracy spat out. She scooted a little closer to me on the couch we were sitting on, "I see the way you two look at each other, and..."

"And what, Tracy?"

She sighed, "And Doug told me about you two a few years ago."

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath.

"At least I heard it from some one, Kate! How could you not tell me about this?"

"I didn't tell you because it wasn't a big deal! I finally won the law suit against Greg, we met up at a bar, we both were drunk out of our minds, and stuff happened! When I woke up, I knew what would happen, and so I left! It's exactly what he would have done!"

"How do you know that, Kate? What if-"

"Okay, you know what? We are not having this conversation now...or ever. I'm not going, that's final; end of whatever the hell-"

"Hey, Katie?" Alan poked his head through the door of the den, making our 'sisterly' talk come to an end. Both of us shut out mouths, plastered fake smiles on our faces, and turned to our older brother.

"Hey, Al," I called out to him, inviting him in the room, also.

He slowly walked into the den, wearing long khaki pants, tennis shoes, and wearing a white t-shirt that had a weatherman on it. Once he reached the side of the couch, he cleared his throat and said, "Doug wanted to let you know that we're leaving in twenty, so you might want to change into something," he looked down at my outfit, "more decent."

I looked up at his blue eyes, an innocent and understanding mask shielding my face, "Sure, bud. I'll be there soon, 'kay?"

"Gotcha," he said as he walked briskly through the door he previously entered.

Once Alan was clear of hearing distance, I let my wrath rein down on Tracy, "What the fuck did you do?!"

Tracy defensively placed her hands over her face and scooted away from me, only to be met by my hands forcing them down, making her look at me. She tried to explain confidently, but slight fear glazed her eyes, "Let me explain, Kate."

"I'm tired of explanations, Trace. I want the truth. Now."

"Okay, fine. I really just need you to go with the boys, to make sure that Alan, and the others, don't get into major trouble. I can't have anyone killed two days before our wedding! Plus, you need a break, Katie. You've been working non-stop for the past two years after you got your life back, and I can see in your eyes that you're exhausted. Go to Vegas; have some fun, get drunk, meet a couple of guys. You'll have fun Kate, I promise."

I let go of her hands and let her run them up and down my arms. Sighing, I looked up at her with tired green eyes, "You know that the only reason I can't say no is because Alan already thinks I'm going."

"Yeah...that too."

"Well then," I said while getting up from the couch, "let me go and pack. Thanks to you I only have," I turned at looked at the clock, "seventeen minutes to do it."

Tracy smiled mischievously at me and said, "Way ahead of you, sis'. You're bag's next to the door in the kitchen."

"Thank God...everything's in there right?" I asked while moving closer to the door.

"Yep," she answered back, "Hey, look at me," I turned to face her smiling face again, "This will all work out in the end, I promise. With you there, I'm sure that everything will turn out perfect."

"Times like these I almost love you."

"Ha, you're hilarious. Now, get your hot ass out of here and out to Vegas, baby!"

"See you tomorrow, Trace."

As I opened the door to get into the kitchen, I heard Tracy call to me, "Oh, and Kate?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Condoms are in the front pocket," she winked at me.

I flipped her off as I walked out of the door, "Fuck you, Trace."


	2. Chapter 2

Thirty minutes later, Doug, Alan, and I were parked outside the school where Phil works. I occupied the far right seat in the back, while Alan held the passenger seat and Doug was driving. To please Alan, I did in fact change into a new outfit; whether or not it was more decent, I didn't know. My new clothes consisted of long light jeans, sandals, and a flowy yellow tank top. My dark red hair was pulled up into a ponytail fell down my back.

"Do you have to park so close?" Alan asked Doug while hiding his face with his hand. _Oh God, here we go again._

"Yeah," Doug said slowly, "why? What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't be here," Alan responded.

"And why's that, Alan?" I could hear slight amusement in his voice.

"I'm not suppose to be within 200 feet of a school."

"What?"

"Or a Chuck E' Cheese."

Doug twisted in his twist to look at me. I knew what he wanted to ask, but I just shook my head, signaling that it was a story that would have to wait.

"Shit," I heard some one say to the right of me.

I didn't have to look at him to know that the voice belonged to one Phil Wenneck, but still I did. I saw that he hadn't changed much; he still had that messy auburn hair, the tall, tan, and lean body, and even though he had his Aviator glasses on, I was sure that his eyes would still be brilliantly blue.

"I'm driving," he said while he threw his bag in the middle seat, probably not caring if it hit me or not.

"Whoa," Doug said when he saw the thrown bag. "No chance in-hey! Don't step on the- Watch the leather!"

Phil had stepped on the side of the car, probably leaving footprints, and plopped down in the seat opposite of me. He instantly turned his body away from the school and towards me, even though he didn't acknowledge my presence; yet.

"Just shut up and drive before one of these nerds ask me another question," Phil said, looking discreetly behind him at one of the kids. I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses at his behavior. _Some teacher he is._

"Animal..." I heard Doug mutter from the front seat.

"Wait, who's this?" Phil asked out loud.

I turned my head to see who he was asking about, and sure enough, he was talking about Alan.

Doug slightly turned his head back to Phil, "That's Alan, Tracy's brother."

"Yeah," Alan said, also turning his head to look at Phil, "I met you like, four times."

Recognition, I'm not sure whether it was fake or not, washed over Phil's face, and he greeted, "Oh, yeah. How are you doing, man?"

"Fine, thanks," Alan responded as Doug pulled out, "How are you, Phil?"

"I'm doing fine, just fine..." Phil trailed off as he looked at me.

His eyes locked on mine for one second before they scanned my body. I should have been disgusted at his very forward move, but, unfortunately, Phil knew about Greg and I's relationship. He was probably just looking to make sure that I was in one piece; or at least I hoped that was the reason.

"Katie," he greeted, smirking, "looking as good as ever."

"Phil," I greeted back, "still the best teacher around, as I can see."

"Oh, babe," he said while placing his arm around my seat, "only if I'm teaching the right class. And as far as I can see, you might need to take that one course again." Phil wriggled his eye brows at me, and I just pushed his arm off, only to be met again by his hand on my knee. This time, I elbowed his hand, causing him to rip his hand away while muttering quietly, "Fucking hell, woman."

"Ha," Alan laughed from the front seat, "Kate having to redo a class? That's, like, impossible! Which one does she have to retake, Phil?"

"Uh..." I laughed at the sight of Phil struggling for words, "she failed gym, Alan. Her endurance level was a little short," he said smiling.

I gaped at him, appalled that he would actually say that in front of me, my brother, and my brother-in-law.

"At least I won the wrestling match," I threw back at him.

I heard Doug laugh from the front seat, followed by Alan's confused laughter. Then I felt something warm against the side of my head, pressing itself once to my ear, "Just the first round, sweetie."

Phil instantly removed his lips and started to laugh with the guys, acting like nothing had happened, like he usually did. I crossed my arms against my chest and leaned my head back, hoping to block out the voices of the three men, specifically one.

"Alright, guys. Who's going to get Stu?" Doug asked from the front.

"I'll do it, I'll do it," Phil volunteered.

When I saw him twist his hips and cup his mouth, I knew that what Phil had in mind was nothing good.

"You know what, I'll go-" I tried to offer.

"Paging Dr. Faggot!" Phil yelled.

"Jesus Christ..." I muttered.

"Really, Phil?" Doug asked aloud.

Alan only laughed.

Then, once again, Phil took in a deep breath and yelled, "Dr. Faggot!"

He smirked as he leaned back into his seat, apparently pleased with his work. Once he saw us staring at him, though, he asked innocently, "What?"

I shook my head at him, but didn't respond, Doug and Alan doing the same. Instead, we watched Stu exit his front door and walk down towards the car. When he was in a couple of feet from us he exclaimed, "Really, Phil? You know, I've been trying to get Melissa to realize how mature you guys are, but what you just did really isn't helping."

"Well," Phil began, "considering how much of a bit-"

"Lesson learned, Stu," Doug cut in.

"Thanks, Doug," Stu replied, "Oh, hey, Kate."

"How are you, Stu?" I asked.

"Pretty well, you know. Just trying to get by with everything going on."

"You know I hate to break up this little slumber party gossip group going on, but we do have to get to Vegas by tonight," Phil interjected, obviously annoyed.

I shot him a glare, but then looked back to Stu, who was now putting his stuff, and Phil's bags, in the trunk. I took the down time to unbuckle and then slide over to the middle seat, much to Phil's delight.

"What, uh, what do you think you're doing there?" he asked playfully.

"Making room for Stu, dumb ass. So don't get any ideas," I said what buckling my seat-belt.

I felt his arm snake around my shoulder as he laughed, "No promises there, Katie."

Knowing that it wouldn't do much good to shake off his arm, I just left it there; sooner or later it would be back to that position, anyways. Stu climbed into the Mercedes with the four of us, which made the seating arrangements not the most comfortable. Phil's arm was up on my shoulders, giving me a tiny bit more room, but I was still squished in between two full grown men. I was a small person, only 5'2'', but that made no difference in how much space I got. My right leg was slightly on top of Phil's left by the time all of us were done adjusting.

Only small talk was made during the beginning of the trip. By the time we were on the interstate, however, it became clear that no one really wanted that talk. So, a comfortable silence filled the car for about twenty minutes. Well, what I thought was a comfortable silence; Alan might have thought differently, because usually he does.

He must have felt the need to go a little crazy, and he sure did. Illegally, he stood up from his seat and started to pound on the windshield, also screaming, "Wahoo! Yeah! Road trip!"

The rest of us four were laughing our asses off as discreetly as we could. Stu looked the other direction, while Phil put a fist to his mouth and put his forehead on my shoulder to hide his amusement. I could hear from the front seat that Doug was letting a few snickers out, but not nearly anything like what was going on in the back.

I looked up again to see Alan turning to slap the side of the car, this time screaming, "Vegas! Yeah! Vegas baby!" All the while, pointing at a young girl with blonde hair in the car next to us.

_Oh God...this cannot end well._

And I was right. Alan had been yelling at the girl for about five seconds before she flipped him off, causing Alan to shut up and sit back down. That interaction, unfortunately, made the laughter come even harder. Stu threw his head back, Phil was biting down on his hand, and Doug was full on laughing. I was with Doug, and just let the laughter roll through.

Phil quickly regained his composure and called out to Doug, "Come on, Doug, just till Barstow! Everyone's passing us!"

"Absolutely not. I promised Sid...I will be the only one driving this car."

Phil shook his head and took a long swig of his beer, which did not go go noticed by Doug, "And besides, you're drinking!"

"Oh, what are you a cop now?" Phil exclaimed, "You know I drive great when I'm drunk!"

"That's right," Stu cut in, "Phil was always our designated drunk driver."

I looked up at Phil, bewilderment clearly seen on my face, "How many times have you driven drunk, Phil?"

"That's besides the point."

"The hell it is! You could die, and kill others, too!"

"Oh, relax, babe! It's completely-"

"Don't call me that."

"You didn't seem to mind when we were doing that one thing- what we were doing again? It involves a man and a woman, and generally a bed-"

"Really, Phil? You're going to go there?"

"Well some one has t-"

"Guys!" Doug yelled out to us, "Come on, this isn't the time to dig into the past. The point is, Phil, is that you can't drive this car," he turned to the side, "Want to explain, Alan?"

"Guys, my dad loves this car more than he loves me. So...yeah,"

"Oh, whatever," Phil commented, "Listen, I left my ex-fiance back in L.A. with my brother to watch the house and all that other shit so that I could go to Vegas with you all...you know how difficult that was?"

"That's really sweet, Phil," Alan said.

"Pshh," Doug snuck in.

"Alan," I said to gain his attention, "he's being sarcastic."

"Hell yeah I am! I fucking hate my life, I may never go back. I might just stay in Vegas."

"Here we go," Doug muttered.

"You know what, Doug? I hope you have a nice life with Tracy. I hope that you never walk in to see her and you're brother- or whoever the hell else- fucking each others guts out in your bed. I hope that you never have to see that because every time you see that person, you die just a little bit. Every fucking time."

I looked up to meet Phil's gaze, trying to plead with him to explain more, but I was cut off by a short laugh of Alan's.

"Yeah, that's why I stay single and non-married."

"Oh, really?" Stu asked, not convinced at all, "That's why you're single?"

"Yeah," Alan said.

"Cool. Great to know that."

"Jesus, guys. You talk about relationships just about as much as girls do."

Both Phil and Doug let out a quick chuckle, but decided not to pursue the conversation. Instead, Doug called out to Alan, "Am I all right over there, Alan?"

"Yeah, you're good."

_Shit._

"Wait, Doug-"

Nope, too late. Doug already had the wheel turned to the right, enough so that we hit a fucking semi. The truck swerved off into the emergency lane while Doug jerked our car back left. I heard a horn honk at us and heard Alan's scream, but that was all before both of my ears were muffled. My head was turned into Phil's shoulder while I clutched his knee. The position only lasted a few seconds, because soon after I felt Phil shaking with laughter, causing me to shake off his hand that protected my head.

"Jesus Christ!" Doug yelled from the driver's seat.

"Holy shit," Stu commented.

And of course, Alan would scream, "That was awesome!"  
"That was not awesome!" Doug screamed back, "What is wrong with you?"  
"That was insane! We almost just died!" Stu yelled back.

"You should have seen your faces! Classic!" Alan shook with laughter, as did Phil. I just sat there, staring wide eyed at Alan.

"What the hell, Alan?" I asked.

"It was hilarious, Kate! Everyone was so scared!"

"Oh, really, Alan? I wonder why?!"

"Ha! That's funny!" Phil said beside me.

"That was so not funny!" both Doug and I yelled.

"Oh, calm down you two. It wasn't-"

I sent a death glare in Phil's direction, causing him to shut his mouth. It was quiet for the next ten minutes.

* * *

Phil and I both looked out the gas station window and onto Alan. He was currently leaning beside the car, reading his book: _The World's Greatest Blackjack Book. _I could only imagine his true intentions for why he had that book...

"Don't take offense to this, Kate," Phil said next to me, causing me to look up at him, "but, is he all there? Like, mentally?"

I sighed and looked back at my brother. "I think so," I responded, "He's just an odd guy, you know? He's a little, weird."

"I know that, but, I mean, should we be worried?"

Seeing Alan threaten to beat up an old man made me think the question over slightly, but still I answer, "No."

"You sure?" Phil asked, still looking undecided.

"Yeah, yeah. Trust me, he's harmless.

"Okay..."

Just then Doug came out behind us and added in, "Don't forget, Tracy did mention not to let him drink a lot. Or gamble."

"Jesus, he's like a gremlin," Phil said, "Comes with instructions and shit."

Even though I hated doing it, I had to agree with Phil.

Stu decided to join us at the register, putting down one water at the check-out. "And one water, please."

I turned around so that I was half-way facing Stu, as did the other two men. "All good with Melissa?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I told her that we're two hours out of wine country...and she bought it."

Feeling Phil clear his throat a little, and then turn fully to Stu, made me slightly worried for what was to come. It was obvious that Phil didn't like Melissa, not one bit. But, he did go overboard with the harassment that he gave Stu about her...sometimes.

"Don't you think that it's a little weird that you've been in a relationship for three years, and you still have to lie about going to Vegas?"

"Phil..." I murmured.

"Yeah, I do. But trust me, it's not worth the fight," Stu said back to Phil.

"Okay, so you can't go to Vegas, with at least one mature person, but she can fuck a bellhop on a Carnival Cruise Line?"

Because of the angle I was turned at, I could see that the lady cashier was slightly appalled by the degree at which our conversation had turned to. And I knew that if it went on for much longer, we would probably be thrown out.

"Hey," Doug said, hopefully trying to put some sense into the other two.

"Okay, first of all, he was a bartender, not a bellhop, and she was also wasted."

"So? I've been wasted plenty of times when I've been in relationships; and I still would never cheat on them."

"Still. But, if you must know, he didn't even come inside of her."

I had to hold back a laugh at what Stu just said, but in the process almost choked. I coughed a little and very quietly, hoping that it wouldn't cause that much attention, because, honestly, I wanted to see how far the conversation would go. Screw the cashier, she can think whatever the hell she wants to.

"You okay?" Doug asked me quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, fine..."

"And you believe that?" Phil said to Stu.

"Um, yeah I believe that. I know that because she's grossed out by semen."

I couldn't help myself, "And you believe that, too?"

Stu just glared at me, but I just laughed it off. I loved the guy, I really did, but, honestly, was he really that blind with Melissa?

"That'll be $32.50," the cashier said, annoyance clear in her eyes.

"It's $32.50," Phil repeated while turning back to Stu, "You going to get it?"

Stu rolled his eyes, but all the same dug his wallet out of his pocket, and then proceeded to pay the woman.

"I'll be out in the car," I told the boys, getting bored standing in the gas station.

I heard the crunch of chips behind me, and then Phil's voice, "Right behind you."

_Great._

I was out the door in a matter of seconds, but so was Phil. He smirked at me while he ate more chips, all the while walking beside me.

"Anything you wanted, Phil?"

"Just needed to get away from one of the three blind mice before I kick him too hard."

"And when have you been concerned with some one's, other than yourself, feelings?"

"Hey, that hurts," to make a point, he held up one of his hands and pounded his chest, "and to let you know, I'm actually not that heartless."

I scoffed at him, "Sure."

"What did I ever do to you? You know, what did I do?"

"Listen," I said to him while I slipped into the middle seat, "we're not talking about this. Not now, at least. What we did was in the past, okay? There's nothing more to it, and nothing more to talk about."

"Fine, fine," he said while throwing his now empty bag of chips away. How he ate so much, I'll never know.

"Hey, Kate?" I turned my attention to Alan, who was still leaning against the car, reading his book.

"Yeah, Alan?"

"In the book that I'm reading here, it recommends that we have a lookout. You know, in case any mobsters try and steal our money. You want to be it?"

Phil, and a newly appeared Stu, slid into the back with me while I said, "We'll see, bud."

"Kay," Alan said back to me. Doug came up next to Alan and told him, "Alan, I need you to get back to your seat. We need to head off now."

"Sure," Alan responded, not even looking up from his book, while he walked to the other side of the car and got in.

Doug did the same on his side and then started the car. When we pulled out of the gas station, it was again quiet. Alan was flipping through his book, and the rest of us just took in the scenery around us, not caring for much conversation.

The ride was silent for about fifteen minutes before Alan ended it, again. He turned to Doug and said, "It says here that we should work in teams. Who wants to be my spotter?"  
"I don't think that you should be doing too much gambling tonight, Alan," Doug said.

"Yeah," I cut in, "I mean, none of us will be gambling a lot tonight. We're just here to have a couple drinks, Al."

"Speak for yourself," Phil muttered to me.

"But, who said it was gambling?" Alan asked, "It's not gambling if you know that you're going to win."

"But how-" Stu started to ask.

"Counting cards is a full proof system," Alan explained.

"That's also illegal, Alan," Stu told him.

"Oh, it's not illegal, Stu, it's just frowned upon. Like masturbating on an airplane."

"Uh," Phil began while Stu and Doug quietly laughed, "I'm pretty sure that's illegal too."

"You would know," I whispered back to him, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe after 9/11, where everybody got so sensitive," Alan responded, ignoring the laughter and curious looks he was getting, "Thanks a lot, Bin Laden."

"Anyways, Alan," I said to him, "you have to be super smart to count cards, okay, buddy?"

"Oh, really," Alan said, clearly not buying it.

"It's not easy," Doug put out there.

"Okay, well maybe we should say that to Rain Men," Alan began, "because he practically bankrupt a casino and he was a ruhtard."

"What?" Stu and I asked.

"You know, he was a ruhtard."

_Oh God, Alan. _He was trying to say something else, but he must have read the pronunciation wrong...

"Retard," Doug said with a smile on his face.

In the back, Phil was smirking devilishly while Stu and I were trying to contain our laughter. The moment did pass, however, and, for the third time, the five us fell into silence for the rest of the way to Vegas.


	3. AN Please Read!

Okay all! I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updating, but I wanted to inform you all that I will be publishing the same story, but on my main account. I won't delete this version yet, but I will post another AN when the edited and revised story is published, which should hopefully be very soon! That you for your support and patience as I get this done.

This will be the same story! Just edited to make it better! My main penname is GravityDefier7827. Hope to hear from you all soon!


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